That's Life
by Otorisosa-kan
Summary: "I win, Mr Lockhart," Sephiroth grinned maliciously as Oliver Lockhart stared at his hand in horror "I believe your daughter now belongs to us." Life isn't all about pink fluffy Moogles. Anne found that out the hard way. Warning: character deaths
1. Chapter 1

The room was thick with the smoke of the cigars. The dealer stroked his precious deck of cards with his thumb before dealing out another round to the players. Five hands collected their cards, poker faces on.

"Who's in?" Sephiroth purred.

"I'm out," Genesis said smoothly as he placed his hand down.

"Damn it, me too," Cid grumbled as he placed his hand down alongside Genesis.

"So am I," Mr Shinra puffed out a large circle of smoke of his cigar and pushed his cards away.

"Well…"

Reno shifted uncertainly. He had caught a soft gleam in Sephiroth's eyes which only he could recognize. He licked his lips and cast his eye down on his hand. Four aces. Oh boy, it was tempting but all Reno had left to bet was his grandfather's pocket watch which would fetch a pretty penny. And he didn't dare play against Sephiroth with this hand.

"I'm…out too…" he said reluctantly and placed his hand down.

All eyes turned to the greedy Oliver Lockhart who grinned confidently.

"I'm in," he said.

"But you haven't placed a bet," Sephiroth said.

"I have my…"

Genesis flashed Oliver's wife's pearl necklace with a gleeful grin. Oliver hesitated and glanced at his hand. Sephiroth smirked and shrugged.

"Oh dear, you don't expect me to play and not gain anything from you if I win?" he said slyly.

"I…I…I can bring my wife's earrings, diamond earrings!"

Sephiroth hummed as he thumbed one of his cards thoughtfully.

"I'm surprised that your wife hasn't noticed all her jewellery disappearing," he commented and Genesis grinned happily, thumbing one of the pearls absent-mindedly.

There was a snigger through the watching crowd and Oliver licked his lips.

"Yeah, next you'll be targeting your daughters for their jewellery," Zack said from his place.

"Oh, poor Tifa, her favourite ring, suddenly gone!" Genesis said with a sweep of his hand.

"'Sorry, Anne, darling dearest,'" mimicked Reno "'But don't worry, I'll buy you a prettier necklace, I promise!'"

"Anne doesn't care for jewellery," Oliver said proudly.

"Oh there he goes again!" Cid snorted as he lit up one of his own cigarettes "Bragging about his precious little daughter!"

"You're just jealous," Oliver sneered.

"Hm, I am," Sephiroth said with a dangerous smirk "If your daughter really is as precious as you describe her, use her as your bet."

There was a collective jeer through the crowd and Oliver swallowed nervously.

"I…"

"You wouldn't really go that low, would you, Lockhart?" Reno chuckled nervously as he noted the predatory look in Sephiroth's eyes.

When a silence was his response, he, Angeal and Zack stared at him in disbelief.

"You're actually considering the risk to lose your own daughter?!" Angeal exclaimed.

"I'll…bet Tifa…" Oliver began.

"No, I want something precious," Sephiroth said firmly "You don't think much of Tifa but Anne, this infamous Anne, she seems invaluable to you. Use her as your bet or you have no bet."

Oliver shifted softly, then nodded.

"Alright, I'll bet Anne."

Reno paled, Zack gaped and Angeal shook his head with a disappointed sigh. Sephiroth simply smirked as he pushed a few piles of Gil bills to the centre of the table as Oliver scribbled Anne's name on a piece of paper and pushed it to the centre. Sephiroth smirked then revealed his hand.

"Four kings."

"Dang it," Reno groaned softly under his breath.

"Straight flush."

Angeal and Zack visibly relaxed as there was a surprised gasp through the crowd. But Sephiroth shrugged as Oliver took in the rewards.

"Oh well, Lady Luck was on your side this night," he said with a soft smirk "Well it is late and I have business to deal with so I call this meeting adjourned."

The men filtered out of the poker room, mumbling under their breaths. Only Oliver remained in the room, clutching the piece of paper which had his beloved daughter's name on. Reno followed after Sephiroth with a soft grimace.

"You're…awfully calm," he observed.

"It was just a couple of thousand Gil," Sephiroth as he loosened the buttons on his shirt "Besides, it's no fun if you get everything with the click of your fingers."

"Wait, you actually want to take his daughter?"

Sephiroth smirked.

"If she really is as pretty as he says, we'll see how much she'll fetch."

"She's sixteen, would you really do that to her? She's a virgin."

"Supposedly," Sephiroth snorted "For all we could know, she's overweight, not that pretty and probably isn't a virgin or sixteen."

"I still…don't know," Reno sighed and shook his head "You see, after what happened with Ciss…"

"You'll get over her," Sephiroth said simply as they reached the top of the staircase they had been ascending "Give it time. Time always heals the wounds."

Reno was left standing alone in the corridor as Sephiroth walked up to his own personal bedroom to get ready for bed. He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.

"Cissnei…" he muttered softly before walking off to his own quarters, not even batting an eye to the tart that was waiting for him.


	2. Chapter 2

"La, la, la!" Anne sung thoughtfully as she ran a stick across the metal bars "La, la, la, li, la, la, la!"

She grinned, being in her own world as usual and not paying any attention to the people that gave her an odd glance. She swung her satchel up and down thoughtfully before turning to enter the graveyard. Her cheerful smile faded and she suddenly looked solemn as she walked past the gravestones. Sephiroth, Zack and Reno watched from the shaded parts of the graveyard, Sephiroth raising an eyebrow.

"She's got a pretty face. That might be worth something."

"Seph, I don't know," Zack grimaced "She's just sixteen."

"It would be a bit harsh to just trick her father into giving you his daughter," Reno nodded "Why won't you just let it go?"

"It's merely business."

Zack and Reno didn't look so happy but didn't object. Reno's eyes widened when Anne stopped at Cissnei's grave and looked away pointedly. The young teenager stuck her stick in front of the grave, knelt down and folded her hands in a prayer.

"She knew her," Reno muttered "Cissnei knew her."

"I was wondering where all the random sticks, stones, and flowers were coming from," Zack commented with a frown.

Anne opened her eyes after finishing her prayer and giggled, sitting back and looking up at the sky.

"It's another beautiful day," she announced "It's finally warm enough to go to the lake in the park and swim. I don't dare go on my own now, the park guard is scary and mean."

She giggled and ran her fingers along the leather satchel.

"Hey, Professor Hollander finally retired!" she said "I'm so relieved, he was so grumpy and such a bad teacher! We've got a younger teacher now and he's so much better. You'd love him Cissy, he is so nice…"

Her breath suddenly hitched and she placed a hand on her throat, swallowing uneasily.

"And…and Mrs Fox is pregnant again," she said with a pained smile "Her fifth child but she hasn't gone onto maternity leave yet. She's hoping to get a boy this time around, her husband probably can't stand all the girls…"

Her eyes watered and her bottom lip wobbled.

"Mr Miura has finally proposed to his girlfriend," she sniffed and clenched her fists "Everyone is so excited, because you know how much he loves her. He'll then take a few weeks off for the honeymoon of course and I'm not entirely sure if I'm looking forward to the substitute teacher he'll send in his place and…and…"

Anne hunched over and covered her mouth, sobbing.

"I miss you!" she cried "I miss you so much, you were such a good friend…"

She hiccupped and cried over Cissnei's grave. Zack perked up when he saw Aerith and smiled goofily, ignoring the sobbing girl that they were supposed to be observing. His smile faded into surprise as the flower girl crouched beside Anne and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"I thought I'd find you here," she said with a gentle smile.

"Aerith…I miss her," Anne wailed "I've never gotten over it, I don't know how…"

"They know each other," Zack muttered "Our girls knew this infamous Anne and they never told us?"

"We never spoke to them about business," Reno spat bitterly.

"Oh yeah…" Zack said with a dumb look.

"Well, now is a good opportunity," Sephiroth said as he turned to Zack with an expectant look.

"Uh…what?" Zack blinked.

"You just happened to be passing by when you suddenly see your lovely girlfriend comforting this girl that you've never seen or heard of before and decide to go over and treat them to some ice cream to make them feel better over the death of their friend," Sephiroth instructed as he grabbed Zack by the scruff "Now go."

Zack stumbled out of the shadows and onto the path. He coughed nervously, goofy smile drifting back onto his face when he saw Aerith and practically sauntered over to the girls.

"Hey, Aerith, I just happened to be passing by when suddenly I see you, my lovely girlfriend, comforting this girl that I've never seen and heard of before!" he greeted.

Reno face palmed at his discretion. But Aerith giggled as she helped Anne stand.

"I'm sorry, there's never been the right moment to introduce you," she smiled "Zack, this is Anne Lockhart, Tifa's little sister. She was very close friends with Cissnei and we normally meet up to visit her grave."

Anne sniffed and blinked up at Zack.

"Who's this?" she whispered.

"Anne, this is Zack," Aerith introduced with a smile "He's my boyfriend."

"Boyfriend?"

Zack grinned at the blank look he got from the younger girl.

"Wow, you could do better."

"Hey!" Zack feigned a hurt look.

"Much better."

Aerith giggled and Reno hid his laugh behind his hand from the shadows. Anne sniffed and sighed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I'm sorry, I just never expected you to have a boyfriend but I suppose I shouldn't be surprised."

"Aw, Anne, it's alright," Aerith soothed.

"No, I really am sorry, I've just been so uptight lately…"

"Well how about I treat you to some ice cream to comfort you two?" Zack offered.

"At Crescent & Valentine's?"

"Sure, anything you like," Zack grinned.

Anne hummed as if she was thinking hard about this. Zack shifted, he hadn't felt this uncomfortable since joining Sephiroth's mafia. Boy, that induction was nerve-wracking.

"Alright, I suppose I could do with a Special Toffee Fudge Caramel with Whipped Cream and Chantilly covered in Chocolate Flakes and doused in Syrup," Anne smiled happily.

"A…what?" Zack blinked and Aerith laughed.

"They have absolutely ridiculously long names for everything in their menus," Aerith explained "Anne loves to recite them all."

"Or maybe I'll go for the Superior Fruity Strawberry and Vanilla Double Twist with Dried Strawberries and the Delectable Wafer," Anne hummed.

"Why don't we decide once we get there?" Aerith suggested.

"OK," Anne grinned as she picked up her satchel and stuck her hand out "Coming?"

Zack blinked as Aerith held Anne's other hand. With an awkward shrug, he took Anne's outstretched hand and they began walking off to the ice cream parlour at the end of the street. Reno and Sephiroth exchanged a look before following them.


	3. Chapter 3

Reno saw Sephiroth studying Anne with a scrutinizing gaze as their coffee arrived. They had followed Zack, Aerith and Anne to the ice cream parlour and had taken a booth not far away from them. Anne was busy guzzling down her Assorted Multi Rainbow Sorbet Delight with Extra Sprinkles and the Best Wafer Yet. Aerith chose a strawberry milkshake and Zack chose not to order anything despite his sweet tooth.

"Um, Seph," Reno whispered and Sephiroth glanced at him "I don't think it's a good idea just to stare, it'll look suspicious."

Sephiroth remained silent and continued to observe the group, his eyes trained on the youngest member.

"I've met her before," he muttered under his breath which Reno just barely heard.

"You think?" Reno whispered back.

"I know."

Reno shifted uncomfortably at his tone.

"Um…where from do you think?" he whispered.

"You possibly wouldn't understand," Sephiroth said and closed his eyes "Sixteen years old…she passed away nearly sixteen years ago."

Reno didn't say anything, just went to drinking his coffee.

* * *

"So, Anne, how did you and Aerith meet?" Zack asked as he saw Anne reach the blue part of her ice cream and paused curiously, tasting the blueberry flavour.

"Mmm…Cissnei's grave and my older sister, Tifa, is good friends with Aerith," she answered absent-mindedly "Blueberry and lime isn't a good combination…"

"Oh, so you knew Cissnei, huh?" Zack tilted his head "How did you know her?"

"We went to the same school," Anne answered as she delved more into the blueberry section "Practically best friends. She normally seemed reserved and I didn't have many friends so I approached her."

"Ah…" Zack hummed and nodded "It must have hit you real hard when she…you know…"

"I was the one who last saw her," Anne whispered with shadowed eyes, her spoon leaving her mouth "We were going to my home to study together and they just came and grabbed her. I nearly had my nose broken when I tried to get them to let her go."

"You tried to go up against a couple of thugs?" Zack blinked.

"They took Cissnei, it was a natural instinct," Anne shrugged.

"A natural instinct would have been to run," Zack raised an eyebrow.

"And just let them take her?" Anne growled and sighed "It doesn't matter anyway. I was too weak."

"Uh-huh…" Zack tilted his head at the aggressive gleam in Anne's eyes.

"Um, Zack, could I speak with you?" Aerith timidly whispered.

"Sure," Zack nodded and got up "Just going to get some coffee, would you like some, Anne?"

"Don't drink coffee…"

"OK."

Zack and Aerith walked over to the bar where Zack ordered two coffees for them.

"What is Reno and your boss doing here?" Aerith hissed "They've been watching us ever since they came."

"Ah…well…"

Zack glanced at where Sephiroth and Reno were sitting and scooted a bit closer.

"You see, Anne and Tifa's father happens to be a regular poker player," Zack whispered "That's why you've seen him come round to the bar quite a bit for the past two years. He always brags about how what a wonderful daughter Anne is and Sephiroth is…well interested…"

"He can't turn her into one of his sluts and sell her!" Aerith hissed "She doesn't deserve that. I've seen what happens to those girls."

"Yeah, me too but he isn't going to touch her," Zack soothed "He's planning to try and have her father use her as a bet in a poker night."

"But…!" Aerith moved forward but Zack placed a firm hand on her shoulder.

"He won't," he said "I mean, what kind of father would bet his own daughter? It's going to be alright, Sephiroth won't get her."

The bell on the door rang and Zack and Aerith turned to see Anne walk hastily away from the ice cream parlour after leaving her ice cream alone, the purple being the only remaining part.

"Strange, she loves the purple section," Aerith murmured and her eyes widened when Reno waved for the waitress to get the bill and Sephiroth stood up "Zack…"

"Relax, he won't do anything to her…" Zack soothed.

"But he…I don't trust him!" Aerith jerked and Zack grabbed her shoulders to keep her still.

* * *

Anne noticed that she was being watched by the two men that weren't far away. She discretely gave them glances and felt a bit more vulnerable when Zack and Aerith left. She was confused, judging by their gazes they probably wanted something from her. Not a lot of guys stared at her like that, she was mostly reserved and didn't really bother with anyone that bothered to flirt with her. There was something haunting about the man with long silver hair, she got chills that were colder than the ice cream just by seeing him. His gaze was penetrating, eerie and Anne glanced at Zack and Aerith. They were glancing at them too and whispering something. Anne glanced over at the two men and then froze. She remembered.

* * *

_"Cissnei!" Anne cried out as her friend was snatched by two men._

_"Anne, run!" Cissnei cried out._

_"Get off her!"_

_Anne lunged for the men but a hand caught her by the throat, making her choke._

_"Who are you to stop me?" the man with long silver hair and cold green eyes hissed to her._

* * *

Anne's hand flew to her throat as she remembered just how tight that grip had been. She glanced at the man again. It was definitely him. Anne abandoned her ice cream but discretely wiped her mouth. She picked up her satchel, left some Gil on the table and walked out as casually as possible. She went down the street and as soon as she was around the corner, she bolted through the crowds. She ran as fast as she could, navigating her way home. She cut across the park and screamed when a hand gripped her wrist.

"Good to see you," the man smirked as he twisted her arm so she had to turn to look at him "Your name is Anne, correct?"

"Get off me," Anne whispered in fright as she panted for breath.

"Come now, I wish to get to know you," the man said and Anne began shaking "When's your birthday?"

"None…none of your business…" Anne squeaked as she began pulling from him "Please, let me go home. I won't tell anyone, I promise, just please let me go."

"Tell anyone what?" the man frowned.

"Ciss…Cissnei…" Anne breathed "Now please, let me go!"

"Anne, all I want to do is have a little chat," the man said calmly.

His grip was too strong, Anne needed to hit him or do something or she could end up in a grave next to Cissnei! But she didn't have a weapon and she wasn't in a good position to kick him in the groin. Wait, she had Science homework to do so she had a heavy science textbook in her satchel. Anne sighed at her stupidity and swung her satchel into the man's face. His grip weakened and she pulled him close to knee him in the groin. He still didn't let her go so Anne used her free hand to grab him by the hair when he was bent over in pain and smash his head into her knee. He let her go to hold his nose and Anne turned around to flee. Thank you, Tifa for the self-defence lessons!

But Anne's glee and freedom were short-lived when she was suddenly weighed down. She turned and to her horror, saw the man was clutching onto her satchel, his cold green eyes glaring at her. Anne looked around for help then realised most people would be at home having dinner right now. He smirked maliciously at her helplessness.

"You would have had so much potential if you'd been a boy," he said.

Anne sent a foot into his face but he grabbed it with his other hand. Oh Odin, his hand was covered in nose blood and it was getting onto her stocking and shoe! Anne blanched and glanced at her satchel. She let it go and sent the other foot into the man's chin. He grunted as she fell down, ripped her foot out of his grip and ran out of the park.

"Seph!"

Ifrit, his subordinate had arrived! Anne ran faster as she heard the other voice. She ran and thanked all the Gods when she arrived home, ignored her mother's questions and ran upstairs, diving under her duvet covers to close her eyes and wish that it was all just a horrid nightmare.


End file.
